All Black Sevu Reece reveals who the fastest All Black is, and what he'll unveil against the Pumas.
Video / AllBlacks.com
All you need to know ahead of the All Blacks' clash against Argentina at the Gold Coast's Robina Stadium on Sunday, 12 September, kick-off at 7:05pm:
Argentina's Pumas have spent two weeks in quarantine reflecting on recent losses to South Africa and focusing on discipline ahead of Sunday's Rugby Championship test against the All Blacks, who have had to make a late change to their starting XV.
Anton Lienert-Brown has been ruled out with a hamstring strain, with Rieko Ioane promoted from the bench to join David Havili in the centres. Quinn Tupaea has been brought onto the bench for what will be his first match against a Pumas side that are hoping to turn around recent results.
The Pumas lost to the Springboks 32-12 and 29-10 in Rugby Championship tests in South Africa before flying to Australia where they have had to isolate for 14 days before continuing the tournament.
Sunday's match will be the first of a doubleheader on the Gold Coast in Queensland, with the Wallabies hosting World Cup champions South Africa in the second game.
30 of the 61 points Argentina conceded against South Africa came from penalties — five in each match — and captain Julian Montoya believes better discipline will be vital against the All Blacks, who are well-equipped to punish lapses.
"We have been locked up for two weeks preparing for the game and being very self-critical," Montoya said. "We always think about what we can improve and how we can be better.
"New Zealand, South Africa and Australia take you to the limit and that is great. But indiscipline is a matter of 100 per cent concentration. We have to adjust that which was the biggest deficit in the last two games and it is difficult to compete with so much indiscipline."
The Pumas have a strong focus on fundamentals — strong set pieces, rigid defence, good exits and accurate tactical kicking. Through those means they seek to control the pace of the game, a key factor against the All Blacks who will always attempt to lift the tempo and play fluidly, with minimal stoppages.
The Pumas come into Sunday's match without a win in this year's Rugby Championship, facing an All Blacks team atop the table after back-to-back wins over Australia.
New Zealand beat Australia 57-22 and 38-21 in the last two tests of the Bledisloe Cup series, which also were Rugby Championship matches. They scored 14 tries in those matches, helped greatly by an Australian team which too frequently gave away possession through turnovers, inaccurate kicking or passing and through poor discipline.
With regular possession and helped by Australia's weak defence, the All Blacks able to control the pace and style of those games.
Head coach Ian Foster has made six changes to his lineup for Sunday's match, from the one which beat Australia last weekend. But those changes don't notably weaken the All Blacks — Foster has been able to replace wingers Rieko Ioane and Will Jordan with a new combination of Sevu Reece and George Bridge, without losing any pace or power in the back three.
Juggling such depth of talent might be a headache for some coaches but Foster says "it's a good headache."
"We have looked at it holistically," he said. "Sevu was one of our form backs, he played well in [July] and the early [Bledisloe Cup tests]. We gave him a rest last week and he'll be ready to go. We are also seeing signs that George is back into the form we know, so it's important he gets an opportunity to stake his claim."
- AP
Julian Montoya's Pumas will square off with an All Blacks side led by Brodie Retallick. Photos / Getty
Teams
All Blacks: Jordie Barrett, Sevu Reece, Rieko Ioane, David Havili, George Bridge, Beauden Barrett, TJ Perenara, Luke Jacobson, Dalton Papalii, Akira Ioane, Scott Barrett, Brodie Retallick (c), Nepo Laulala, Asafo Aumua, Karl Tu'inukuafe.
Argentina: Juan Cruz Mallia, Bautista Delguy, Matias Moroni, Jeronimo De La Fuente, Santiago Cordero, Nicolas Sanchez, Gonzalo Bertranou, Rodrigo Bruni, Marcos Kremer, Pablo Matera, Matias Alemanno, Guido Petti, Santiago Medrano, Julian Montoya (c), Facundo Gigena.
Reserves: Facundo Bosch, Carlos Muzzio, Enrique Pieretto, Tomas Lavanini, Juan Martin Gonzalez Samso, Gonzalo Garcia, Santiago Chocobares, Emiliano Boffelli.
Last five tests
2018: All Blacks 46, Argentina 24, Nelson 2018: Argentina 17, All Blacks 35, Buenos Aires 2019: Argentina 16, All Blacks 20, Buenos Aires 2020: All Blacks 15, Argentina 25, Sydney 2020: All Blacks 38, Argentina 0, Sydney
Odds
All Blacks: $1.05 Argentina: $10
Points start: -23.5 All Blacks
Weather
Clear, fine and warm weather is predicted for the Gold Coast on Sunday evening with zero chance of rain.
The Herald will provide live updates. You can catch live commentary of the match on Newstalk ZB, Gold AM and iHeartRadio.
The match will be broadcast live on Sky Sport 1, with coverage beginning at 5:15pm. If you want to watch the match online, you can stream the game live via Sky Sport Now.
Scott Robertson has resisted any temptation to rotate his side for the All Blacks’ year-ending test against Italy, naming as strong a side as possible for Sunday’s clash.
